Zedoaria is a Zingliberaceae plant Curcuma zedoaria. The rhizome of Curcuma kwangsiensis S. Lee et C. F. Liang or curcuma aromatica Salisb (RADIX CURCUMAE) is bitter and acrid in tastep, warm-natured and is able toregulate Qi and promote blodd circulation, remove food retention and alleviate pain. It mainly cures abdominal mass, congestion and amenorrhea, food retention and gas pains. Its valotile oil can be used to treat uterine cervix cancer. It has been included in the Chinese pharmacopeia of 1977 (Page 463). The active component is the volatile oil with the content being 1%-2.5%. The main components in the oil are a variety of sesquiterpenes: curzerenone, curdione, neocurdione, epicurcumol, curzerene, curcumol, isocurcumol, procurcumenol, dehydrocurdione and the like, totally about more than twenty chemical components. Curcumol and curdione are the mainly effective components of curcumol oil for treating cancer.
Curcumol, also known as curcumenol and turmerol, molecular formula: C15H24O2, molecular weight: 236.34, [CAS] 4871-97-0, melting point: 141-142° C., has the following structure formula:

Subcutaneously injecting of 75 mg/Kg curcumol exhibited a high inhibition rate against mouse sarcoma 37, uterine cervix cancer, and Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC). In patients whose tumor was remarkably diminished, it could be observed that fibrocytes around the tumor tissue significantly increased. They have a inner layer of lymphocyte. Immune response, for example, phagocytes surrounding the tumor cells, was also observed.
Curcumol has not only a significant anti-tumor effect, but also the effects of promoting immune response, increasing leucocytes, protecting the liver, preventing kidney failure, anti-thromb, antibiosis, and the like. At the same time, it has no observable toxicity, and its side effect is relatively low.
Therefore, curcumol is a very useful natural drugs. However, it exists the following deficiencies:                1. Poor water solubility, difficult to produce stable medicament liquid with an appropriate concentration.        2. Severe pain when being topically injected or injected into the neoplasma. Chest distress, flush and dyspneic respiration and other symptoms will occur when it is injected too fast.        3. The variety of tumors to be treated is limited.        4. Strong toxicity.        
Although the total effective rate reaches more than 70% with respect to earlier period uterine cervix cancer, there still exists the possibility for further improving the drug effect.